Trent



March 26, 1929. w E TRENT ,7o6,42

APPARATUS FOR DIS' I'ILLING MATERIALS Filed Jan. 20, 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet1 adaf n March 26, 1929. w 5. TRENT v ,7o6,42

APPARATUS FOR' DISTILLING MATERIALS Ffied Jan. 20. 9 ?Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Mar. 26, 1929.

* UNITED STATES WALTER I'lDWIN TRENT, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OFCOLUMBIA, AS SIONOR TO v TRENT PROCESS CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,A CORPOEATION OF DELA- WARE.

PATENT OFFICE;

AP IE'ARA'L'US FOR DISTILLING MATERIALS.

Application filed January 20, 1921. Serial No. 438,(517.

V The invention relates to an apparatus for the treatment of materialscontaining a volatile content, such as coals,oils, mixtures of coal andoil, ores, etc.

The invention more particularly consists in improved apparatus forsubjecting finely comminuted carbonaceous material to a relatively lowheat treatment to obtain a maxi- `mum yield of oils from thecarbonaceous 'material with a minimum yield of fixed` gases, and torecover the residue in its finely divided state in a carbonized form.

My improved apparatus is particularly adapted for use in carrying out aprocess for the treatment of comminuted carbonaceous materials, such ascoals, in which it is a salient feature not only to increase the totalyield of oil products, but to obtain a different product in that theoils yielded carry a substantially greaten percentage of low boil-- ingpoint oils than would otherwise be produced by present dayprocesseswhere larger size materials and higher temperatures, are.

employed. These improved results are obtained by treating the coal orlike material having a hydrocarbon content while in an exceedingly finestate of division, in keeping the material in motion and underagitation` while undergoing a heat treatment, and in employingtemperatures just suflicient 'to Volatilize the oils attheir respectiveboiling points from Vcoal particles which are so fine in size as torequire only the minimum of heat penetration, thereby avoiding theeXcessve temperatures whch are necessary when heating coarse material,and which excessive' temperatures causes two general changes in the oilvapors, one being changing; vapors into fixed gases, 'and the otherconverting part of the low boiling point oil vapors into higher boilingpoint vapors.

The apparatus preferably consists of a plurality of alternate stationaryand rotary heated hearths, over the surfaces. of which, the materialprogressively advances. The stationary hearths are provided With rabbleswhich serve to advance and assist to heat the material during itspassage over the surfaces of the movable hearths, and the movablehearths are likewise provided with rabbles which serve to advance andassist to heat the material during its passage over the stationaryhearths. Coal and all other materials, when treated in coarse sizes, sayapproxmately 4, requre relatively low temperatures to treat the exteriorsurfaces' tures, while volatile products come off as" the particlesattain the low temperature, they are then changed in character by thehigher temperature, the high temperature necessary for penetrating thecoarse particles having a further detrimental effect, that of causingthe particles undergoing treatment to f-use and agglomerate, which canbe avoided by carrying out such treatment in the present apparatus.

To avoid these changes of the oil vapors I, reduce the coal or othermaterial to the economic limit of fineness so that in effect theparticles are practically all surface and no interior, thereby enablingthe application of the minimum temperature to cause the vaporizationsand' consequently avoiding Conversion of vapors to fixed gases and lightboiling pointoils to higher boiling point oils, and'also preventing thefusion or agglomeration of the carbonized particles.

The material, when introduced to the retort, travels successively andalternately over the upper surfaces of the moving and stationary hearthsand is subjected, throughout its travel, to heat transmitted from theinteriors of both moving and stationary hearths, which interiors areheated by hot gases travelling therethrough, With this Construction, thetop and bottom surfaces of each hearth and also the rabbles constitute iactual heating surfaces. When great heat economy s desired and whenvapors produced at different temperatures are to be col-' lectedseparately, the material being treated is caused to run counter-currentto the dithose ot the lowest boiling point first, and as the materialreaches the hotter zones, those of higher boiling points and so on, thelastto be volatilized and taken oli being of course those of highestboiling point at the hottest heat zone in the path of travel.

The present invention thus enables materials, such as coals, oils,shales, oil sands, or mixtures of oil and coalto be continuously treatedto yield their volatile constituents at a minimum temperature and toenable the vapors which pass from the material atvarious temperatures tobe separately collected. As an example of the operation of the apparatusin carrying out the process above mentioned, if finely comminuted coalis being treated, the same passes through the retort in a directionopposite to the path of incoming gases and is maintained in a state ofmotion and agitation during its heat treatment, so that when thismaterial is subjected to a temperature of approximately 350 C., thevo'latiles will be quickly vaporized, While the residue will notagglomerate, but is collected in the form ot carbonized particles insubstantially the same state of sub-division as the green fuelintroduced to the retort, but of course freed of all of its Volatiles orsuch portions as may be desired. The volatiles thus recovered are in theform of valuable oils, With a minimum of fixed gases. The oils of lowboiling points thus produced are exceedingly valuable, whereas if thematerial were subjected to a high temperature, these low boiling pointoils would be converted into fixed gases and other less desirable coalproducts.

While I have described an apparatus as particularly applicable to thetreatment of pulverized materials, it will be understood that the sameis also adapted to use in the distillation ot liquid oils, in whichevent the oil is introduced to the retort and passes through Zones ofprogressively increasing temperatures, while the vapors are dischargedfrom said zones through independent discharge conduits permitting theseva pors to be. collected Without being commingled.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical sectional view of theapparatus; and,

Figures 2 and 3 are detail views.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing's wherein like referencecharacters indicate corresponding parts, the nmneral l designates adistillation apparatus or retort having suitable walls composed of anydesired material and mounted in any approved manner, for example uponthe base 2. Supported within the retort upon an inner casing are aplurality of circular double walled hollow stationary hearths 3, whichmay be composed of metal, and each hearth has its upper and lowersurfaces disposed at an angle so as to merge at the inner termination'cating with the gas flues 32.

thereot in a circle, so that in section it shows as a point. The hearthsare Secured to the inner casing or plates 3', by rivets, welding or thelike, and both this inuer casing and the outer wall ot the heartl areformed so as to provide 'lues 3 on opposite sides of the retort, asshown in Figure i for the passage of heating gascs. Positioned withinthe lues are a plurality ot spaced baflies 4 serving to detlect theheating gascs and to cause said gases to pass through openings in theinncr easing or plates 3' into the hollow portions ot the stationaryhearths 3. The stationary hearths 3 are made ot hollow tormation as toprovide passages for heating gases, thereby heating not only the uppersurfaces of said hearths over which the material being treated istravelling, but also transmitting heat through the lower surfaces ofsaid hearths to material on the corresponding next lower rotary hearths.The heating gases are preterably introduced to the retort through a feedpipo 5, which is provided with branch communications 5' and 5 forintroducing the heating gases to both the stationary hearths and therotary hearths, which will be more i'ullv hereinafter described. l

Rotatably mounted within the retort is a hollow column 6, seated withinbcarings 7 at one end, and the structure is provided with said seals 8at each end of the column :tor preventing the escape of the heatinggases introduced thereto. Carried by this column are a plurality ofbafilcs 9 adapted to defiect theheating gases so as to cause said gascsalways to pass into the hollow interiore of the rotary hearths, to benow described, in a circuitous path.

Mounted upon the column is a pluralitv ot rotary hearths 10, which areot' substantihllv thesane general. arrangement as the sta tionaryhearths 3. Rotary hearths are in form the reverse of the stationaryhearths. the inclination of the upper and lower surfaces merging attheir outer tcrninations. thus providing a passage ll for the material,between the rotary and stationary hearths. which are substantiallyequi-distant froni one another at all points. The rotarv hearths arehollow to provide passagcs l' for the heating gases, such gases being`also introduced to the interior of the stationary hearths 3, throughopenings G' communi- These gascs are conveyed to the retort at the lowerend thereof and travel upwardly through said retort in a directioncounter-current to the path of the material introduced thereto, .tinally discharging through the fiuc discharge 12, thus providing in theretort heating gases which progressively decrease in temperature as theytravel through the retort. The rotary hearths may be rotated in anyapproved manner, but in the present disretort which 'may be pulverizedcoal, an

amalgam of oil and coal, or oil and graphite, finely dividedcarbonaceous particles, shale oils and the like, is introduced throughthe supply pipe into the passageways 11 formed between the, variousstationary and rotary hearths and progressively travels downwardlythrough the retort while being subjected'to'the heat of thegasesntroduced throu h the gas feed 5. The material is 'first epositedupon the inner part of the surface of the uppermost rotating hearth 10,passing between said hearth andthe upper inner surface of the retortwall, which retort wall is furnished with rabbles, then around the pointof the upper rotary hearth,

"and then deposited upon the surface of the succeeding stationaryhearth, travelling in this manner' throughout its passage through saidretort. To prevent, 'if desred, ag-

glomeration of solid 'particles when a pulverized material is beingtreated, I place upon the bottom surface of each stationary hearth aplurality of hollow rabble s 1 7, which serve to keep the'moving materaln a constant state of agitation and also to transmit heat thereto whilesaid material is passing over the surface of a' movable hearth. `Thesehollow -rabbles may be, f desired, in free communicatonwith the interiorof the hearths and derive-heat from theheating gases flowing therei n asindicated. To prevent agglomeraton of the material while travelling overthe surface of asucceeding' stationary hearth I-also provide rabbles 17'attached to the low'er surthereto.

fa'ces of the rotary hear-ths, which constantly agitate the materialand'alsotransmit heat The 'rabbles 17 and 17' may be adjustably mounted uponthe hearths, or spaced varying distances f rom o ne another so as alwaysto cause the material passing over the hearth to be moved in thepassageway 11 thereby preventingaccumulations` of said material betweenthe rabbles on either hearth. These rabbles maybe set at 'varyingangles, and the position and number of rabbles are dependent uponOperating con- The material when introduced is tort, over 'the alternatestationary and rotaryhearth surfaces,`through the passage- 'ways 11 andas a result of the countercurrent travel of the heating gases thematerial 'is subject to a progressively increasing temv perature whichis highest at the point Where the material is being discharged.

lVhen treat-ing' materials for recovery of their Volatile constituents,it is desirable to remove the volatilized vapors at various points inthe apparatus so that vapors of one character removed at one temperaturemay be separated 'and segregated from vapors removed at anothertemperature. With this in mind, there is disposed as communicating Withthe passageways 11, a plurality of independent vapor take-oti' ppes 12,each pipe preferably leading to a separate point of'collection'andstorage. This permits the vapors to be discharged from the retort, asproduced and prevents the various vapors volatilized at different.temperatures from commingling. Any number of these discharge pipes maybe employed, and they may be 'disposed in any manner desired.

It--Will be appreciated that the heated vgases indirectly heat thematerial passing through the retort by conduction through the exposedsurfaces of the movable and stationary hearths. The material is in astate of movement and agitation when passing'through the retort so thatin the event V a material such as comminuted coal is being treated, the`residue is discharged from the retort by the elongated deflector 19attached to the lower stationary hearth, and is collected in thereceiver 20 in the form, if so desired, of finely divided carbonizedparticles which have not agglomerated or fused together. The recovery ofthe residue in finely-divided form with absence of agglomeration orfusion is made possible by means of the relatively low temperature towhich the material is subjected while undergoing treatment, the fincnessof the material, and the uniform and gradual application of the heatthereto, such unifor'mity of heat control being brought about ,by myimproved means' for transmitting heat to the material as' well as foragtating same during' its passage through the retort.

as'these coal particles are kept in a constant state of agitationthetemperature is not sufficiently high to cause a material agglomerationthereof. The degree of fineness of the material controls to a certainextent the temperature necessary and the time required to remove thevolatiles. When coal ranging 'between 100 to 200 mesh is treated, thedesired result can be obtained with a gas temperature not higher thanappro'ximately 450 C., with a treatment of approximately minutes. Theapplied heat being approximately %O C., the' temperature actuallyimparted to the material is approximatcly 350 C. By treating the coalWhile in a. Very fine state of division, under agitation and at a. lowtemperature, a maximum quantity of light oils is recovered from the coalWith a minimum percentage of fixed gases. This is possible only becauseof the low temperaturetreatment and the fineness of the materials 'forreasons previously pointed out' This low temperature also enables hearthsections to be constructed of metal of a character favorable to heatconduction as the heat is not sufliciently high to attack metal hearths.

The heating gases are, as has been before stated, of a temperatureapproximately 450 C., so that the heat actually imparted to thepulverized material is approximately 350 C., and this has been found byme to be a temperature sufiiciently high to vaporize the VolatilesWithout changing the character thereof, and to also prevent fusion ofthe carbon residue. r

lVhile I have disclosed the preferred embodiment of the invention, itWill be understood that the same is susceptible of change within thescope of the following claims Without d'eparting from the spiritthereof.

Having thus described the invention, What I claim is:

1; A retort for treating comminuted materials, comprising a plurality ofholloW statio-nary hearths and a plurality of holloW rotary hearths,said rotary hearths being so positioned alternately With respect to saidstationary hearths as to form a confined passagcway therebetween, meansfor causing the material passing through the retort to alternatelyfiowacross the surfaces of the rotary and stationary hearths and meanscarricd bythe l''earths for both heating and agitating the materialmoving across the upper surfaces of hearths next below, means forsupplying comminuted material to said retort to flow through saidconfined passage- Way and means for admitting a heating `mediu1n te theinteriors of said holloW 'a confined, inclined, sinuous passagewaytherebetween for feecl ng the material to be treated thercthrough zigzagin vertical section; hollow, conical rabbles projecting downwardly fromthe inclincd lower surlaces of said hollow hearths to substantially theupper inclincd sui-faces of the next adiacent lower hearths; means torevolve said column and attached hearths; means to indircctly heat saidmaterial consisting solely of means to adnit heating gases to theinterier of said hearths; means to feed inaterial to and through saidsinuous passage Way; means for discharging and separately collectingVapors from the retort at progressire intervals during the travel of theinaterial therethrough and means for discharging the treated materialfrom the retort.

3. A retort for distilling carbonaceous materials, comprising a.cylindrical casing, having a plurality of hollow, conical, annularhearths attachcd thereto, project-ing' radially inwardly thereof atspaced distances, a re- Volvable column mounted substantially centrallyof said casing, haring hollow, conieal, annular hearths attached theretoprojecting radial'ly outwardly in said'casing at spuccd distances intothe space between said stationary hearths said revolvable and stationary hearths being so spaced as to form a confined, inclined, sinuouspassageway therebetween for 'eeding the material to be treatedtherethrough zig-zag in vertical section; means to revolve said columnand attachedi hearths; means to indirectly heat said material consistingsolely of means to admit heating gases to the interier of said hearths;means to feed material to and through said sinuous passageway; means fordischarging and separately collecting Vapors froni the re tort atprogressive intervals during the travel of the material thcrethrough andmeans for discharging the treated material from the retort.

4. A retort for distilling carbonwcous muterials comprising a casin aplurality of' ,superposed alternately disposed stationary and rotatablehearths so spaccd as to dcfine confined sinuous passugeway thercbctwcenfor material being led the'ethrough, said hearths being holloW andconsisting of highly heat conductivc material, hollow rahbles uttachedto the lower sides of said hearths and communicating therewith, meansfor rotating said rotatable hearths as a. unit, means for udmittingheating gascs to the interier of the lmvernost heurth of each of therespective sets of stationary and rotatable hearths, means for causingsaid gases to pass suecessivelj through each hearth and the rabblesassociated thorcwith of each set, means for sealing said sinuouspassagewty against ingress of heating gases or air. and means atprogressire inte'vals in said retort for withdrawing and separatelycollecting vapors evolvcd from material passing therethrough.

5. A retort for distilling carbonaceous materials comprising acylindrcal casing, a plurality of superposed, spaced annular hearthsattached to the inner surface thereof, a hollow rotatable columndisposed centrally within said casing and having a plurality of spaced,hollow annulahearths attached thereto and projecting radially outWardlyinto the spaces between the stationary hearths, said stationary androtatable hearths being so spaced as to define a confinecl sinuouspassageway therebetWeen for material being fed therethrough, holloWrabbles attached to the lower sides s of said hearths and communicatingthere- With means for rotating said column, means for admitting heatinggases to the interior of the lowermost stationary hearth, means .forcausing said gases to pass' successively through each hearth and therabbles associated therewith of the set, means for admitting heatinggases to the lower end of the -therespective rotatable hearths fordireotng said gases through openings in the walls of said column intothe interior of each of said hearths in succession, means for scalingsaid sinuous passageway against ingress of heating gases or air, 'andmeans at progressive intervals in said retort for Withdrawing andseparately collecting vapors eVolVed from material passing therethrough.

6. A retort for distilling carbonaceous materials, comprising a' casing,a plurality of superposed alternately disposed, holloW stationary androtatable hearths so spaced as to define a confineol sinuous passagewaytherebetween for material being fed therethrough, means for supportingand rotating said rotatable hearths as a unit, consisting (of a holloWcylindrical column having openings therein communicating With the hollowinteriors of said rotatable hearths, and

means for rota'ting said column, baflles in said column opposite therespective rotatable hearths and extending through said openngs intosaid hearths to direct gases' passing through 'said column into theholloW interiors of said hearths in succession, means for admittingheating gases to the lower end of said column, and means for withdrawngsuch gases from the upper end of said column after same have traversedsuccessively said rotatable hearths.

7. A retort for distilling carbonaceous materials, comprising a casng, aplurality .of superposed alternately disposed hollow stationary androtatable hearths so spaced as to define a confined sinuous passagewaytherebetween for material being fed therethrough, hollow rabblesdepending from the lower sides of said hearths to substantially theupper surface of the next adjacent lower hearths, means for rotatingsaid rotatable hearths as a unit, means for sealing said sinuouspassageway against ingress of heating gases or air, an inlet fiueleading from a source of combustion gases and communicating With thelower end of said retort, a stack fiue leading from the upper end ofsaid retort, means for dividing heating gases introduced through saidinlet flue and for directing one portion `of same into the interier ofthe lowermost stationary hearth and then through the remainingstationary hearths and the rabbles assoeiated therewith in series, meansfor directing the remaining por- A In testimony Where I affix mysignature.

WALTER EDWIN TRENT.

